Advice - recent 197 purchase

[cl955]

Hi, I have just purchased an 07 Clio 197 with 62k miles and a reasonable history.

The last couple of years it was owned by a young chap who seemed to do the bare minimum.

I don't see any bills for suspension or steering components, except for 2 new road springs.

The car drives ok but feels a bit loose and not as sharp as I think it could be. There is also some wheel shimmying under braking which seems to depend more on the road surface - the discs are scored badly, but not ridged which is odd.

At this sort of mileage and age, what should I be looking out for please? I have read about the bottom ball joints, but I guess there are other parts that might need attention. Whilst fixing any worn out parts, are there any practical upgrages such as Cup dampers and better engine mounts please?

I might take it for an MOT to detect worn out parts, although it is not due for about 7 weeks, so was hoping to get some work done beforehand as I have a l9ng trip in 2 weeks.

TIA!

 

[Jimmy]

Hi and welcome to the forum

The springs may have been replaced because one of them snapped - it is best practice to replace both if this happens. As you've read, ball joints are a common thing to wear out as the mileage increases. Have you read the forum buyers guide? There is a bit on there about possible faults with the steering column and rack, which may explain the shimmying.

As for other possible reasons, there are far more technically minded people on the forum who might be able to make some other suggestions

With regards to upgrades - there are a number of threads about upgraded mounts on the forum if you want to have a search.

 

[Chris]

What do you mean about scored discs?

 

[cl955]

What do you mean about scored discs?

The discs have done about 15k miles I think. The fronts have quite deep scoring on the braking surface - as though the pads had lots of grit on them! There still seems to be life left in the pads and the discs - maybe the scoring is related to corrosion if the car was sitting around for a while?

 

[cl955]

Hi and welcome to the forum

The springs may have been replaced because one of them snapped - it is best practice to replace both if this happens. As you've read, ball joints are a common thing to wear out as the mileage increases. Have you read the forum buyers guide? There is a bit on there about possible faults with the steering column and rack, which may explain the shimmying.

As for other possible reasons, there are far more technically minded people on the forum who might be able to make some other suggestions

With regards to upgrades - there are a number of threads about upgraded mounts on the forum if you want to have a search.

Thanks - it's great to be here! I have always liked these cars from a distance, and I love the brio that they seem to have. I understand why people love to improve them!

I will check out some of the other great content on here. I used to work on cars a lot when I was younger, but don't have the facilities any more (or the time), but I feel this could be an exciting journey!

Yes one spring snapped, so both were done. At some point, I will go down the upgrade path with dampers etc but want to assess the overall condition of what I have - don't want to put lipstick on a pig [emoji1]

 

[antnee]

Parts which will probably need replacing at this sort of age are the track rod ends, ARB drop links and the stabiliser links. Main suspension bushes don't seem to be to much of a problem, the Powerflex inserts on the upper and lower engine torque links should stop a bit of engine movement and make gearchanges feel a bit better

 

[cl955]

Great thanks antnee.